Vacuum-cleaner



w. Smm/ARL VACUUM CLEANER. APPLICQJION FILED NAB. i3, 1919.

UNITED sTATns PATENT OFFICE.

cLAUDn w. STEWART, or MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

VACUUM-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1920.

Application filed March 13,'19'19. I Serial No. 282,262.

-following is a full and clear specification.

This. invention has relation to'that type of vacuum cleaner orlsweeper,usually manually propelled, in which an electric driven motor operates asuctionfan and also a brush'mounted in' the intake nozzle, which nozzle`is adapted to rest upon or run close to the floor or eoor-covering, sothat as the.

dirt is loosened the inrushing air will carry it into the usualdust-bag; and the .object of the present invention is to simplify andimprovethe brush mechanism, as more fully hereinafter set forth..

In the drawin'g-l Figure l is a view partly in side elevation and partlyin vertical section showing my invention appiled to a well-known type ofcleaner;

Fig. 2is a horizontal sectional view.

In the drawing, a designates the motor which is mounted as usual on topof the sliction chamber, and b the usual fan afxed to the shaft of themotorand running in the suction chamber. Aixed to the depending end ofthe motor-fan-shaft is an eccentric c which carries a strapd secured bya horizontal pivot d to a pitman c which extends forwardly into thenozzle chamber and is rigidly attached midway the length of the brush fwhich is in the form of a bar extending approximately the full length ofthe intake-opening of the nozzle, the

bristles g of-the brush depending downwardly to a point on approximatelevel ,with the inlet edge of the nozzles. l

The forward end of the pitman and the brush are supported entirely by'aspring L which is located inthe nozzle chamber and extends the fulllength'of the interior thereof, the ends of the spring being rigidlyattached to the interior walls of the chamber and the midlength of thespring being rigidly attached to the front face of the baur of thebrush, the latter connection being secured by means of a clip le' which.is also employed for attaching the pitman rigidly to the brush. Thespring is of the flat bar or plate type and is set vertically edgewise,so as to have no appreciable sag or yield in a vertical direction, andyet will yield in a fore-and-aft direction sufficiently to permit fullreclprocation of the brush by means of 'the eccentric. Between the.point of attach.-

ment ofthe spring to the brush and thel points of attachment thereof tothey nozzle walls, a sulicient fullness in the spring is provided topermit the necessary movement of .the brush without binding, thisfullness being provided in the present instance by Ybending the springinto a substantially S shape in plan, these S-shaped members beingdesignated L in the drawing. Desirably, the parts will be soproportioned and arranged that while the machine is at rest, the springwill be untensioned, with the eccentric at rest on its rear stroke, sothat onv the forward stroke of the eccentric the spring will be'tensioned, thus storing up power which will be utilized in assisting themotor in returning the brush in its backward reciprocation, therebycontributing to easy running of the apparatus.

It will be understood that by reason of the very rapid rotation of themotor and the fact that the eccentric is affixed directly to .the shaftthereof, the brush will receive a very rapid vibratory movementfore-and-aft and will thus veryefectively loosen the dirt in the carpetor other floor-covering and thus insure a thorough cleaning of thefloorcovering, which covering will, as is usual in this` type of device,be bulged slightly into the intake nozzle by the suction action and bethus held .resiliently against the rapidly vibrating brush bristles. Itwill be observed that by employing a vibrating brush, as distinguishedfrom a rotary brush, and susand Vthe strap, which parts will obviouslylast a great length of time and besides may .be readily renewed whenworn. This` extreme simplicity of the brush mechanism' materiallyvreduces the work ofthe motor and besides renders the apparatus entirelynoiseless. The spring supporting the brush not only enables me to getrid of all parts which slide or rotate upon each other in the nozzlechamber and thus are subject to wear, but also enables me to employ atype of spring which will in a material way assist the motor, since, asstated above, on the forward stroke of the brusha considerabledegree ofpower is stored in ythe, spring which, when the spring tends to returnto normal, will not only relieverthe motor ofv work but will in factassist it by a forward thruston the pitman. The use of an eccentric isfurtheradvantageous when employed with a pitman-which is supported atits forward end by a laterally-yieldable supporting member and isrigidly connected at the forward end of the brush, because of lthe factthat the brush body will be free to oscillate slightly fore-and-aft atits ends' as the'eccentric rotates, thus contributing to a thoroughbrushing of the floor-covering fabric.' brush body is assisted bybending the spring at .h2 backwardly away from thefront face l of thebrush, as is obvious.

In order to vertically adjust the brush body from timev to time tocompensate for wear of the bristles I vertically slot the side walls ofthe nozzle chamber at y' and 'pass the spring-fastening bolts 71theredescribed, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a vacuum cleaner of the type set forth, an eccentric affixed tothe shaft of thefan-motor, a reciprocable biusli operated by theeccentric, and resilient means for suspending the brush in the'nozzlechamber,

said resilient means consisting of a flat s rin arranged verticaliedrewise within This fore-and-aft oscillation of the the nozzle chamberand afixed at its ends to the walls thereof and at a point between itsends to the brush body.

2. In a vacuum cleaner of the type setA forth, an eccentric affixed tothe shaft of the 'fan-motor, a reciprocable brush operated bytheeccentric, and resilient means for suspending the brush in the nozzlechamber, said resilient means being adjustably connected at its ends tothe wall of the nozzle chamber to permit vertical adjustment of thebrush and the resilient means.

3. In a vacuum cleaner of the type set forth, an eccentric-afixed to thefan-motorv shaft, a strap engaging the eccentric, a pitman connected tothe strap by a horizontal pivot, a brush attached to the forward end ofthe pitman in the nozzle chamber, and vertically-adjustable suspendingmeans for the brush.

4. In a vacuum cleaner of the type set forth, an eccentric atlixe'd tothe fanmotorshaft, a strap engaging the eccentric, a pitman connected tothe strap by a horizontal pivot, a brush attached to the forward end ofthe pitman in the nozzle chamber, and

' vertically-adjustable suspending means for theibrush, saidsuspendingmeans consisting ofa spring yieldable fore-and-aft of the machine.

5. In a vacuum sweeper of the type. set

`^ forth, an eccentric on the motor-shaft in the suction chamber, abrush suspended in the nozzle chamber so as to have body movementfore-and-aft as wellas a lateral' oscillatory movement, and` ahorizontal connecting i member arranged between the eccentric and thebrush and supported-entirely by the brush and eccentric. p

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix. my signature. l

CLAUDE w. s'riiwaR-T.

